WASHINGTON –– The Supreme Court ordered former President Clinton
disbarred from practicing law before the high court on Monday and
gave him 40 days to contest the order.

The court did not explain its reasons, but Supreme Court disbarment
often follows disbarment in lower courts.

In April, Clinton's Arkansas law license was suspended for five years
and he paid a $25,000 fine. The original disbarment
lawsuit was brought by a committee of the Arkansas
Supreme Court.

There are no fines associated with the Supreme Court action. Most lawyers who are admitted to the Supreme Court bar never
actually argue a case there, but the right to do so
is considered an honor.

Clinton agreed to the Arkansas fine and suspension Jan. 19, the day before he left office, as part of an understanding with
Independent Counsel Robert Ray to end the Monica
Lewinsky investigation.

The agreement also satisfied the legal effort by the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct to disbar Clinton
for giving misleading testimony in the Paula Jones
sexual harassment case.

The Supreme Court followed its standard rules in the Clinton case,
which include suspending Clinton from practice in
the court and giving him 40 day to show why he
should not be permanently disbarred.

The court order did not mention any vote by the justices.

"Whenever a member of the bar of this court has
been disbarred or suspended from practice of any
court of record, or has engaged in conduct
unbecoming a member of the bar of this court, the court will enter an
order suspending that member from practice before this court," Supreme Court rules say.

Julia Payne, a spokeswoman for Clinton, referred calls to his lawyer, David Kendall, in Washington. Kendall did not immediately
return a call seeking comment.